Most Contagious Live: building creative effectiveness at Heineken and 2025 trends
Dec 19, 2024
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Chloe Markowicz, Editor at Contagious, shares effective social media strategies, emphasizing genuine engagement and community involvement. Friederike Offermanns, Global Communication Manager at Heineken, discusses cultivating a culture of creative effectiveness. Tom Standage from The Economist highlights macro trends shaping 2025, including the impacts of economic policies and the evolving creator economy. The conversation dives into the importance of long-term partnerships and innovative campaigns that resonate with audiences amid uncertainty.
Heineken's culture of creative effectiveness is built on continuous learning and engagement at all organizational levels, enhancing brand storytelling.
As brands look toward 2025, they must adapt to potential economic challenges and leverage AI technologies while aligning with workforce acceptance.
Deep dives
Effective Social Media Strategies
Social media has emerged as the leading channel for global advertising investment, emphasizing the importance of brands engaging authentically with their audiences. Successful campaigns, like Charli XCX's Brat album launch, utilize a conversational approach, prioritizing interaction over traditional advertising methods. By embedding Easter eggs and encouraging fan participation, the campaign generated significant organic buzz, demonstrating the value of fostering engagement rather than merely broadcasting messages. Brands can learn from this by shifting their focus towards community interaction and being responsive to current trends, making their campaigns more participatory and enjoyable.
The Rise of Unconventional Branding
Brands like Nutter Butter are experiencing a renaissance on social media by embracing experimental and entertaining content that resonates with audiences. Their unique 'fever dream' style combines absurdity with brand identity, allowing them to capture attention in a crowded digital landscape. Nutter Butter's strategic use of TikTok for outrageous, memorable videos illustrates the potential for brands to break away from conventional marketing to achieve organic virality. This approach highlights that fun and creativity can drive brand engagement—encouraging others to adopt a playful tone without fear of failure, as the freedom to experiment offers significant rewards.
Building Creative Culture in Organizations
Heineken's success in marketing is attributed to its structured approach to creativity, which includes ongoing skill development and engagement at all organizational levels. The company employs innovative practices, such as short creative training videos and interactive sessions for senior leaders, promoting an environment of continuous learning. By ensuring that creativity isn’t limited to junior staff, Heineken fosters a culture where all employees contribute to brand storytelling. Strengthening relationships with agency partners also enhances this process, as collaborative strategic thinking leads to more effective and relevant marketing efforts.
Trends and Challenges in Global Markets
Looking toward 2025, brands must navigate the uncertain waters of a potentially protectionist global economy, which could lead to increased tariffs and higher consumer prices. The anticipated policies from the U.S. presidential election could disrupt international supply chains, impacting brand strategies significantly. Consumer sentiment is already fragile, and any spikes in inflation could exacerbate buying reluctance among consumers. Additionally, the rise of AI technologies presents both opportunities and cultural challenges, as brands need to align technological advancements with workforce acceptance to avoid alienating their employees.
WARC's Anna Hamill talks to Friederike Offermanns (Heineken) about how they are building a culture of creative effectiveness at Heineken and Tom Standage (The Economist) about 2025 macro trends. Contagious’ Chloe Markowicz joins to discuss the most effective social media strategies from this year. Recorded live at Most Contagious 2024 in London.
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